Renowned for their quality, and rich with heritage, Drinks Ireland highlighted the impressive global reach of the country’s drinks brands, which are a pivotal part of Ireland’s famous food and drinks offering, ahead of St Patricks day.
The group highlighted that the total value of Irish drinks exports increased by 19% in 2021 to €1.62 billion, according to the latest Bord Bia data.
While heavily impacted by COVID-19, and particularly the global closure of the on-trade (pubs, restaurants, hotel bars), exports remained resilient, and producers are now focused on recovery and further growth, the report shows.
Patricia Callan, director of Drinks Ireland said, “Irish drinks producers take great pride in creating quality products that are renowned the world over.
"These products are often the first touchpoint people in foreign countries have with Ireland, and many of our Irish brands are rich with history and heritage."
Drinks Breakdown
According to the report, Irish whiskey exports grew by 25% in 2021 and were valued at €855 million.
Irish cream liqueur exports also demonstrated significant recovery last year, up 19% and valued at €367m.
Also in the spirits category, gin recorded growth of 38%, albeit from a lower base.
Beer exports were down by 3% last year due to the closure of the on-trade channel, but were still valued at €246 million.
Export Market Breakdown
The data indicated that the top export destinations for Irish beer are the United Kingdom, the USA and France.
Elsewhere, the UK, USA and Australia are the most popular export markets for Irish cider.
Drinks Ireland estimates that cider exports from Ireland increased by 33% between 2020 and 2021, from €58 million to €77 million.
The strong connections between the US and Ireland are evident, as this is the top destination, accounting for over half of our drinks exports.
The UK is also an important market, as well as countries in the EU, and the global travel retail trade sector.
Emerging Markets
The Irish connection is evident the world-over though, and there are also a number of emerging markets for Irish drinks exports.
Africa continues to be a promising region, with shipments more than doubling in 2021 to reach a value of €53 million.
Asia is also a promising market exporters will be targeting in the years ahead.
Total drinks exports to the region grew by almost 40% in 2021 to reach €38 million.
"Overseas visitors who enjoy one of our drinks products at home may wish to learn more about this when they take a trip here and go to drinks-related visitor centres, or indeed a local Irish pub," Callan added.
"It was promising to see exports recover last year, with stronger prospects for the year ahead.”
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more drinks news, click here. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
